Do you add sulfites to help with aging your mead?

[damdaman]

I've been reading about aging wine and mead. Most people on sites like HBT think that if you want to age wine more than a year or so, it needs sulfites added, or it will eventually start to oxidize and degrade. Is this the same with mead?

However, some sites talk more about acidity and tannins and what will preserve a wine for many years/decades, not added sulfites.

Since lots of people are repeating what they've read on some site or in some book, and nearly everyone agrees that the longer you can store mead, the better it gets, I'm wondering what people's actual experiences are sulfiting vs. not sulfiting their own personal meads and storing them for 2+ years. Has anyone actually opened a bottle of non-sulfited 2+ year old mead and noticed it was starting to oxidize, or otherwise turn bad?

I'm curious because I have several wines and meads that are a bit over 2 years old now, and I did not sulfite most of them, and I'm trying to decide if I should drink them or continue to let them age.

 

[loveofrose]

I am unable to use sulfite due to allergies. I've successfully aged mead 4+ years with no oxidation issues. Good practices (topping off, etc.) are important, but mead is a lot more resistant to oxidation than fruit based wines. It is pretty difficult to oxidize mead.


Better brewing through science!

 

[bernardsmith]

I am unable to use sulfite due to allergies. I've successfully aged mead 4+ years with no oxidation issues. Good practices (topping off, etc.) are important, but mead is a lot more resistant to oxidation than fruit based wines. It is pretty difficult to oxidize mead.


Better brewing through science!

why is mead particularly reluctant to oxidize?

 

[loveofrose]

The short answer is I don't know why. Lots of research has been done in wine concerning oxidation. Generally, resistance to oxidation is due to a wine component that can neutralize reactive oxygen side products (tannins, phenolics, etc). Perhaps honey contains some yet undiscovered super oxygen absorbent chemical?


Better brewing through science!

 

[damdaman]

I am unable to use sulfite due to allergies. I've successfully aged mead 4+ years with no oxidation issues. Good practices (topping off, etc.) are important, but mead is a lot more resistant to oxidation than fruit based wines. It is pretty difficult to oxidize mead.


Better brewing through science!

That's good to know. At least one of the meads in question was oaked as well, which would contribute tannins, so maybe I'll leave that one alone.

 

[Yooper]

Remember that fermentation itself produces sulfites, so there is really no such thing as a sulfite-free wine, cider, beer or mead. There are a couple of yeast strains that minimize sulfites, and I think legally under 20 ppm a wine can be labeled "sulfite free". That's fine for people who are sensitive to them, but someone who is truly allergic has to keep that in mind. Generally, there are far more sulfites in things like dried fruit, bacon, or store bought apple juice than in homemade wines, even if sulfites are added as an antioxidant. So if someone can eat olives or raisins, wine is fine.

I use sulfites routinely, in a level of 50 ppm to protect the wine and mead from oxidation. While mead is less susceptible to oxidation than wine, it's not immune to it. I think that commercial wines are permitted to have something like up to 350 ppm in them.

 

[damdaman]

Do you know how much 1 campden tablet/gallon adds, in ppm? Also I'm curious if anyone knows the method by which sulfites prevent oxidation?

 

[Yooper]

Do you know how much 1 campden tablet/gallon adds, in ppm? Also I'm curious if anyone knows the method by which sulfites prevent oxidation?

In general, one campden tablet per gallon provides about 60 ppm of s02.

I found a short explanation of how sulfites work as an antioxidant at this website: http://www.practicalwinery.com/janfeb09/page2.htm

In part, it says:

Oxidative reactions can occur in both red and white wines but are particularly noticeable in the latter. Dissolved oxygen in wine can react with phenolic compounds giving the wine a brownish hue.Another product of this oxidation is the compound acetaldehyde, which has a nutty, sherry-like aroma. Sulfur dioxide is used by winemakers to prevent this oxidation; however it does not act by directly removing oxygen from wines and musts.
Although the sulfite ion (SO3=) can bind with oxygen, there is almost no sulfite ion present in solution at the pH range found in wine (see Figure I). Rather sulfur dioxide prevents oxidation by binding with the precursors involved in oxidative reactions preventing them from reacting with oxygen or by binding with compounds already oxidized to reverse oxygen’s effect. Sulfur dioxide also acts by reducing the activity of the degenerative enzyme tyrosinase (polyphenol oxidase), which is present in juice.